20 years after a pandemic has radically changed known civilization, infected humans run wild and survivors are killing each other for food, weapons - whatever they can get their hands on. Joel, a violent survivor, is hired to smuggle a 14 year-old girl, Ellie, out of an oppressive military quarantine zone, but what starts as a small job soon transforms into a brutal journey across the U.S.

With a metacritic score of 95, almost universal acclaim, and Kotaku already hailing it as one of the best PS3 games of all time, I had to give this a try over the weekend. And holy smokes, it blew away my expectations. It's beautiful, the character designs and animation are varied per character and unique, and the action is as tense as anything I've ever played. It's scary as hell, with limited moments of relief. So much so, that I have to put it down after an hour or so.

Anyone else enjoying this? Let's discuss where we are--spoiler-free, please, or using spoiler tags (you can quote my spoiler below to see how to use these tags).

I just exited the Museum. The subway section was nerve-wracking, as were the multiple rooms w/ Clickers. Damn, I hate those things! I never have enough shivs, so I have to run from them most of the time.

Spoiler:

Bummer about Tess, as I really liked her character.

Speaking of shivs, anyone find if it's better to craft existing shivs into stronger ones, or just keep creating them as they break?